Chapter 2
"I win, you have to buy breakfast" Sasha huffed, out of breath, just beating Azima into their condo at the end, of their 5 mile run.
"That's not fair, you're running out, all your nervous energy"
Sasha, laughed a little and plopped down on the couch after grabbing a bottle of water for Azima, and herself. It was Friday. Three days since her date with Tom, and the night of her dinner with him and his kids.
"I'm not nervous, I'm just...I don't know, reserved. I'm not good with kids"
Azima gave her a look "I think you're being ridiculous. You're great with kids. Look at Frankie, I think he listens to you, more then his own parents"
"That's because I bribe him with cookies" she smirked "Tom's kids are a little too old for that. Anyway, enough about my troubles. You and Wolfe seem to be spending an awful lot of time together. He's spent four of the last seven nights here, by my account"
Azima looked at Sasha, over her water bottle as she took a sip "Spying on me?"
"Occupational hazard" Sasha smiled "but someone that was def, Dumb and blind could tell you the same thing. That man's cologne sets a 2 mile perimeter" she quipped, quickly dodging a pillow that Azima, had thrown her way.
"I like to think of it, as a built in tracking device" Azima laughed. "I'm going to shower, we'll leave at 0700?"
Sasha smiled and nodded "0645...you owe me breakfast"
Later in the day, Tom was sitting in his office staring at charts, graphs, readiness reports, strategic battle formations. Everything he needed to effectively do his job, and do it well, yet all he could think about was how excited he was for this evening.
"You trying to mind meld all those reports" Mike joked as he sat down in a chair, the opposite side of Tom's desk.
"Just deep in thought"
"Ah huh. And it has nothing to do with a certain, brunette intelligence officer?" Mike said as his eyes scoured Tom's, desk. A piece of paper quickly catching his eye "or your cooking skills, should I say lack of" he said quickly grabbing the pot roast recipe before Tom could snatch it away.
"Don't you have other things to worry about, other then my cooking ability. Which by the way, is just fine, or with whom I may or may not be having dinner" he grumbled, pretending to pay attention to the paper work in front of him.
Mike sat there for a few seconds and thought about it "nope" he smiled "I don't. So you might as well fess up now"
Tom sighed, looking up and leaning back in his chair "if you must know, Sasha, is coming over for dinner tonight. Yes, I am making a pot roast, and no, I have never made one before"
"You know" mike said, trying to hold back his smile "Cooper strikes me as a gal that doesn't mind pizza and beer. Might save you a lot of stress. Would also save that poor roast. Give it a chance to be cooked by someone who knows how" he laughed.
"Thanks, you're a world of help" he mumbled sarcastically
"No problem, what are best friends for" mike smiled getting up "I'll see you on Monday. Can't wait to hear about your weekend" he said walking out the door.
Tom sighed, running his hand through his hair. As much as he hated to admit it, mike was right. He had no business in a kitchen, beyond breakfast and a light dinner for his kids.
Sasha sat in her car, and looked at the clock. "6pm, right on time" she mumbled to herself.
She reached in the back seat, grabbing a bag before exiting the car and walking up to the front door. She took a deep breath, doing a quick recall of "calm under stress 101", before carefully knocking on the door.
"I'll get it!" She heard someone yell from inside. Although, she already knew it was Sam's voice. "Hi Ms. Cooper" he said cheerfully, opening the door to let her in, instantly eyeing up the bag in her hand.
"Hi Sam, it's good to see you again" she smiled stepping in, closing the door behind her. "And you can call me Sasha, if it's alright with your dad of course" she said looking to Tom, as he walked around the corner.
Sam looked to Sasha then to his father expectantly "Yes, of course you can" he said placing his hands on Sams shoulders as he stood behind his son. Sam smiled and looked back to Sasha. "What's in the bag?"
Sasha laughed and held it out for him "dessert, which needs to go in the freezer"
"Ice cream!" Sam almost shouted, looking inside the bag. Three years ago, like many things these days, Ice Cream was an everyday item, almost seen as a right, not a privilege. Today however, well this was a different world. Simple indulgences were not so easy to find. The fact that they had managed to have a meal out, with alcoholic beverages was a treat and almost miracle in itself.
"Yes, ice cream that desperately needs a freezer" Tom said, shoving his son towards the kitchen. Once he was around the corner, he looked back at Sasha and smiled "he may be happier about tonight then I am, now" he said leaning in for gentle kiss.
Sasha smiled against his lips, returning the kiss "even now?" She whispered, as Tom ran his hands along her shoulders, sliding her jacket down her arms and hanging it on a hook. Sasha inhaled as she felt his hands on her body, and couldn't help but gravitate towards his touch.
Tom smirked and shrugged, leading her towards the kitchen "ice cream is pretty awesome"
Sasha shook her head smiling "something smells amazing" she said a little sceptically "you learn to cook at some point in time over the last 15 years?"
"Dad burns water" Sam said taking a seat next to Sasha, on the island bar stools.
"Thanks Sam, nice of you to stick up for me" he said grabbing two beer, handing one to Sasha.
"Thank you" she smiled softly taking the beer, looking over at Sam "so if your dad still burns water, who's responsible for that wonderful smell coming from the oven"
"I am" a gentle, yet assertive voice said, walking into the kitchen.
"Me too!" Sam yelled, giving his sister a nasty look.
"They both prepared and hand made two wonderful looking pizzas. I supervised" Tom said, quickly stepping in before a fight could evolve.
Sasha nodded and looked at both Sam and his sister. "That was very kind of you two" she said before locking eyes with Tom's eldest. "Hi Ashley, how have you been?"
"Pretty good, Sam and I started school this week" she said walking over to where her brother and Sasha were sitting "I made new friends already, and I really like all the subjects".
Both Tom and Sasha were a little surprised, at how Ashley offered up more of a response then the question she was asked, though neither showed. Tom gently and quickly, squeezed Sasha's forearm reassuringly, before going to take the pizza out of the oven.
"Except for Spanish" she sighed "the teacher is annoying and gives us stupid homework assignments".
Sasha bit her cheek, not wanting to show her amusement in Ashley's description of both her teacher and homework assignments. She also wanted to offer help, without actually offering help, or making the teenager feel stupid. "Are there areas that your teacher doesn't clarify very well?"
"Like, all of it" Ashley said reaching into her backpack, which hung off the back of Sam's seat, and plopped a note book in front of Sasha.
*that went better than planned*sasha thought to herself. She took a quick glance at the work this so called teacher had distributed and grimaced. It only took 5 seconds to notice a handful of errors in the handouts. "I see" she nodded closing the book back up. "Not easy to learn, when you're not being instructed correctly"
"You can read Spanish?"
Sasha nodded and took a sip of her beer "Read, write, speak"
Ashley looked at the woman, biting her lip with hesitation "do you think that maybe you could show me the proper way, like, teach me what you know?"
"I can do that" she smiled handing Ashley back her books "how about after dinner, we can go through your homework and hopefully get it straightened out"
"Okay" Ashley smiled. The first smile, Sasha noted, she can remember seeing on the girl, in her presence. It amazed her how different, two kids that grew up in the same house could be. Sam was a ray of sunshine, open, friendly, talkative with everyone and anyone. Sasha guessed, he was very much like his mother. Ashley on the other hand, was 100% Tom. Kind and polite, but reserved. You had to earn both their friendship and trust.
"Pizza is ready" Tom said, pulling Sasha from her thoughts. "Okay?" He whispered, holding a chair out for her.
"Okay" she smiled, running her fingers across his arm as she sat down.
The foursome enjoyed a lively dinner. Sam asked Sasha non stop questions. He was fascinated with all the places she had lived and worked. He couldn't even fathom the idea that she could speak over 10 languages fluently. Never mind read and write. Even Ashley had been shocked by this, even joked that Sasha should come teach at her school.
After dinner, Sam and Tom cleaned the dishes, while Sasha helped Ashley with a few tricks, to help remember proper pronunciations and spellings of common words.
"Can we please have desert now!?" Sam asked pulling on his fathers arm.
"You two all done?" He asked looking over at his daughter and Sasha, while arm wrestling with Sam.
"I think so" Sasha smiled, looking at Ashley who nodded in agreement.
"I'll get the bowls out" Ashley said, putting her books away and going over to the cupboards.
The tub was only pint sized, so Tom and Sasha elected to share a small bowl, leaving the rest for his kids, who quickly devoured it before running off to the living room to pick out a movie.
"Thank you" Tom said softly, taking a moment while his kids were arguing about what movie they were going to watch.
Sasha leaned into his shoulder, as she dried the last bowl and smiled handing it to him "Dont thank me too much, this is about as domestic as I get" she said flipping the towel over her shoulder.
"I wasn't talking about your dish drying skills. As good as they may be" he smiled, putting the dish in the cupboard, then turning to Sasha resting his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him "thank you for tonight...for being here, for being you"
"Thank you for letting me" she said softly, running her hands up his arms, lacing them around his neck. "And thank you, for being you" she whispered reaching up to gently kiss him.
Tom returned the kiss, his arms tightening around her body, causing Sasha to let out a small whimper. Those sounds, coming from her mouth, always managed to drive him crazy, fill him with desire for her, and only her. "Suddenly I don't mind doing the dishes" he mumbled against her lips, as they broke apart for air.
Sasha laughed, placing a kiss on his chest, as she rested in his arms "hmmm, you're good at it. And I don't mean the dishes. I mean all of it" she said moving her hands to cup his cheeks "being a father. You're a natural, a great father, as if you were meant to do it" she said smiling up.
Tom was a little surprised at her assessment. Not that he thought he was a bad father "I wish I could take credit for it all, but I wasn't the one who raised them" he said sadly "not for the majority of their lives anyway"
Sasha nodded, holding his gaze "I'm sure it must have been difficult on them, on you, on Darien. What matters though is the effect you had when you were there, and more importantly, that you're here for them now. And it shows. They love you, they respect you. Like I said, you're a great father." She realized then, without a doubt, that breaking up with him all those years ago was the right thing. As much as it hurt and pained her, it would have been selfish to ask him to sacrifice his desire for a family, and ultimately would have lead to resentment.
"Thank you. I don't necessarily agree with you 100%, but I think it's what I needed to hear"
"You're welcome, and I mean it" she said giving him a quick kiss on the lips
"Dad! Sasha! The movie is ready!" Sam yelled from the living room causing them both to laugh "come on, before he drags us out" Tom smiled taking her hand in his as they walked out to the living room. He wanted to show both his kids that Sasha was becoming a more important part of his life, without shoving her in their faces. He would have loved for nothing more then to curl up on the couch, with his arms wrapped around her, but it was far too soon for that. So he settled for the middle of the couch, with Sasha next to him on his left. Sam quickly sat next to Her, giving a quick preview of the movie, while Ashley curled up on Tom's right.
Throughout the movie, they would occasionally steal glances at each other, Tom always squeezing her hand in reassurance. By the end of the movie, both kids were past out on either side of them. It was almost 10pm and Sasha herself was getting tired.
"You're Okay to drive home?" Tom asked, as they quietly slipped off the couch, and walked towards the front door.
"I'm fine Tom" she said slipping her coat on "thank you again. Tonight was, tonight was wonderful. I really enjoyed it" she said honestly. She quickly thought about it, all her fears, all her reservations were for nothing. It all felt so right.
"I ah, I have to go to St. Louis on Monday, probably for a couple days, but maybe when I get back, we can plan something?" She asked as he once again, wrapped his arms around her.
"You mean I have to wait almost a week until I can see you again" he mumbled, as Sasha smirked, placing her hand on the back of his neck.
"Gives you lots of time to plan our next date"
"Plan! I'm more of a spontaneous kind of guy"
Sasha let out a laugh "right, and I'm a damsel in distress" she smiled giving him a kiss, careful not to let her true feelings and desires spill into it. "It's getting very difficult to kiss you" she murmured against his lips.
Tom smiled, one arm slipping behind her jacket to the small of her back "I'm sorry it's such s burden for you" he said leaning in and kissing her again. This time drawing a soft groan from the back of her throat, that excited him to no end.
"You have no idea" she whispered, finally pulling away.
Tom sighed, reluctantly letting go of her "text me, when you get home. So I know your safe, okay?"
"Okay" she smiled, pulling her keys out of her pocket. "Goodnight Tom"
"Goodnight Sasha" he smiled, waiting until she got into her car, and drove off down the street before closing the door.
*Thanks so much for reading. I'm usually just an avid reader. Some of you are such talented writers! And I enjoy ALL Tomsha stories. So if you have any hidden away, please share.*